Arsenal: Raheem Sterling Assessment Surprisingly Not Wrong

Arsenal may be in a worse position than they have been in years, but one rival player has hit the nail on the head about the Gunners fortunes.

Arsenal nation is pretty devoid of optimism lately and for just cause. They have lost six of their last nine and most of those haven’t even been close. Also noteworthy, some of them included brief hints of resiliency followed by the casual reminder of spinelessness.

It’s rather odd, then, that a brief note from a rival attacker, one that we play this very day, has hit the nail on the head.

In assessing his opponent, Raheem Sterling was keen to emphasize that they cannot take this game for granted just because Arsenal has been on a poor streak. There is nothing guaranteed in Manchester City’s trip to the Emirates.

“They can start winning games again and go on a good run at any moment,” he said, as quoted by ESPNFC.

And they really can. One thing we know about Arsenal is that they are a team that is strung out on emotion. When things go well, they go really well and when things go bad, they often go really bad.

Which is part of the problem they’ve had these past couple years. They have simply fallen into the ebb and flow of momentum without being able to create anything for themselves. Anything can happen to turn their fortunes around and it doesn’t even have to be anything big.

Once they find that hint of confidence, watch out.

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What Sterling said has applied to just about every Gunner season in recent memory. And, lo and behold, they have the keys to fourth place in their hand. If they can win all of their games in hand on the teams above, they can lift themselves into fourth place and move within a point of third place.

That is shocking. Simply because the club has been so poor this season. But with double digit games still to play, there is always that fall-back claim that anything could happen. Only this time it isn’t blind optimism, it’s another open door from United failing to win against West Brom.

A Champions League place seemed impossible after our Baggies defeat but now it, yet again, seems highly likely and there is still that theory floating around that Alexis will stay if Champions League football is achieved.

If this is indeed the “same” Arsenal club that has been floundering for the past decade, then everything Sterling says will come true. There will a charge and it will be convincing. And you know what everyone says. When this club is actually clicking, they can beat anyone.

Next: Arsenal's Potential XI Under Thomas Tuchel

It all starts against Sterling’s club. So let’s prove him right.

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